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NYPIRG’s Blair Horner, who worked for now-Gov. Andrew Cuomo back in his AG days, has fallen out of favor with the administration – and how.

Horner, as you’ll recall, spearheaded Cuomo’s Project Sunlight – an on-line searchable database for campaign finance, lobbying, legislative and government information. He lasted just over a year in the AG’s office before returning to NYPIRG as the good government organization’s chief lobbyist.

When Horner departed his payroll, Cuomo said the following:

” Blair Horner joined my office last year to create Project Sunlight, an Internet-based platform offering New Yorkers a better understanding of state government and unprecedented access to information. He made it into reality and made it a national model.”

“With the successful launch of Project Sunlight, Blair will continue his life-long commitment as an advocate with NYPIRG.”

“I can’t thank Blair enough for his contributions to my office and for his friendship. Sunlight was a top priority for me when I was elected and Blair was the catalyst to see it through. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for his service and I wish him the best with his continuing contributions to New York.”

But after Horner accused Cuomo of cutting a “naked political deal” with hospitals to cap non-economic damages in medical malpractice suits to get their support for a painful 2-percent cut in Medicaid reimbursement, the administration is singing an entirely different tune.

Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto blasted Horner in a Newsday article (sadly, behind the paywall), calling him a “mouthpiece for the trial lawyers.”

“It is absurd to brand as a political deal an open process that produced meaningful results with shared pain on all sides. Evidently, old-style Albany special interest attacks during the budget process have not ended – they are merely being carried out by surrogates.”

The state Bar Association plans to put on a “full-court press” to fight the MRT’s proposal to cap so-called pain-and-suffering awards at $250,000 and create an insurance fund for babies that suffer brain damage at birth. Together, these two plans account for more than $200 million worth of Medicaid savings.

UPDATE: I’m not sure how it is that Horner could be characterized as a handmaiden for trial lawyers. NYPIRG doesn’t legally have to reveal its donor list (same goes for the Committee to Save NY), but according to Horner, its big donors are foundations, not attorneys.

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